It remains to be seen who will handle kicking duties for the Giants during Sunday’s game against the Eagles after Jude McAtamney struggled mightily last weekend in Denver.
McAtamney missed a pair of costly extra points in the historic road collapse, which led to him being released by the team, though the did re-sign on the practice squad.
Big Blue opened the practice window for Graham Gano to make his return this week, but it’s still unknown whether or not he’ll be ready to get back out there on Sunday.
If he isn’t, Younghoe Koo is expected to be elevated from the practice squad to kick.
The team has liked what they’ve seen from Gano to this point in his return to the practice field, but they are still going to wait and see how he comes out of Friday’s session before making any final decisions.
Brian Daboll didn’t rule out the possibility of having both kickers active in case of emergency.
“If we need to do it, we’ll do it,” the head coach said. “If Graham is good to go and feels comfortable and the medical staff feels comfortable with it, then we won’t — I'll see where he's at after practice and see what the trainers think.”
Gano told reporters he felt good to go following Friday’s practice.
He isn’t worried about potentially re-injuring himself, whether or not that’ll be enough for the Giants remains to be seen, as they’ve been burned a number of different times over the past few years.
Gano attempted to play through a knee injury two seasons ago, but he ended up opting to undergo season-ending surgery after missing a pair of costly field goals in an overtime loss to the crosstown rival Jets.
He also tried to work through a groin issue last season against the Commanders, then he ended up tweaking his hamstring on the opening kickoff, missing the remainder of the three-point divisional loss.
The 38-year-old was injured again just three games into this season.
Despite the recent tough luck, Daboll and the Giants remain confident in their guy.
“Graham has done this a long time,” he said. “I understand he's had a few injuries. He's done a good job these last couple days, and he'll go out there today, and we'll see how he feels — but he's a pro, I think he feels good. We'll go ahead and make the right decision for our team.”
Read the full article here
